"It's true. The Force...The Jedi...All of it." - Han Solo

After my first viewing of The Force Awakens I was left with a sense that I may have missed something. That "something' was a micro moment between Han Solo and Kylo Ren, you know, during THAT scene. Well now, on the eve of another Han Shot First controversy, I thought it'd be a good idea to record my take on that issue...

Let me spell this out. People are starting to suggest that Han Solo helped Kylo Ren kill him on that cat walk by igniting the Lightsaber for him. Nope. Kylo Ren murdered Han Solo in cold blood and here's why...

Snoke has been manipulating Kylo Ren, pushing him towards patricide for a very specific reason. I won't go into the why here, you'll need to check out the Talk Star Wars YouTube channel for that story. Suffice to say, Snoke has been telling Kylo Ren that having compassion for Han Solo is as bad as Darth Vader having compassion for Luke. Vader's, or more appropriately Anakin's compassion for Luke was his weakness and lead to the fall of the Sith. So Kylo Ren deliberately lead Han Solo, his father, out onto that catwalk with one simple motive: to kill him and purge himself of the light that was pulling him. Weakening him. Kylo Ren thought this would make him stronger...

For Han's part, he went out after his son committed to rescuing him. Saving him from the darkness that had consumed his grandfather. Leia had emboldened Han by telling him he could reach Ben, the boy under Kylo Ren's helmet. Leia had inadvertently manipulated Han the way Snoke had manipulated Kylo Ren; by telling him what he wanted to hear. Namely, Leia tells Han he can succeed where Luke failed, simply because he is Ben's father. She was wrong.

Han and Kylo Ren come to the moment on the cat walk from very different positions. Kylo Ren misleads Han by implying that he is looking for a way back from his current position. That's what Han believes he is assisting with, "take of the helmet, you don't need it..." It's Han Solo's attempt to reach Ben through the dense cloak that is the Kylo Ren persona. Kylo Ren's comment, "I know what I have to do, but I don't think I can do it." Han hears what he wants to hear, Han hears, "I want to break free of Snoke's grip and come home." That's why Han takes the Lightsaber, he believes he is disarming his boy. He most certainly is not helping his boy commit patricide.

Kylo Ren believes killing Han, his father, will make him powerful. Perhaps powerful enough to rise up and become his grandfather. Maybe even overthrow Snoke and install a new Sith order with a very specific apprentice by his side. He preys on his father's compassion and entices him out onto that cat walk. Han's compassion disgusts Kylo Ren, who has been conditioned, by Snoke, to view this as a weakness. He manipulates events to get close to his father, look him in the eye and mock him as he murders him in cold blood. That, is what that thank you is all about.

It's worth pointing out, that all parties here fear Kylo Ren/Ben Solo has too much Vader in him. Han and Leia fear that this is what is making their son into this twisted monster. All the while Snoke, and indeed Kylo Ren himself sees too much Vader as a weakness. To them, the light, the compassion on display is a weakness. That's unacceptable to them. So you can see that these parties are coming to this moment from very different places. Han misread the situation and it cost him his life. Han Solo would not, and did not help his son commit murder. His compassion for his son was his undoing.

Now, that something, that micro moment I mentioned earlier, it was a look that flashes over Kylo Ren's face as he kills Han Solo. It's the moment Kylo Ren successfully frees himself of what remains of the light side, and it weakens him. Leia feels it too. At that exact moment Leia drops onto a crate at the resistance base. This is her feeling the last hope for he son die. This is why Rey kicks Kylo Ren's ass, because he got weaker when he expected to get more powerful. If you want to know why, check out our Snoke, Rey and the Darkside theory video on YouTube...

I'd be interested to know what you think about this. Did Han Solo help his son murder him? Did he, the rebel general who helped destroy two Death Stars, help his son fall deeper into darkness by allowing himself to be murdered? Or did this misguided young man prey on a father's hopeful compassion so he could get close enough to murder him in cold blood? Leave your thoughts in the comments or email TalkStarWarsINFO@gmail.com and I'll read them out on the podcast.